Average crop for Eastern Prairies

On the eastern Prairies, variable yields are the crop production story of 2023, not only from region to region, but large yield variations within the same farm.

Despite the highs and lows, many producers are pleased with yields.

“Overall, for the wheat, most of the farmers are getting above 70, (around) 75 to 80 bushels per acre. (That’s) pretty good,” said Amir Farooq, farm production specialist with Manitoba Agriculture in Brandon.

Farooq was describing the overall situation in western Manitoba, but the story may be similar in other parts of the province and in eastern Saskatchewan.

Cereal crop yields range from below average to very good, depending on moisture.

Terry Tyson, general manager of Grain Millers Canada, which operates an oat mill in Yorkton, knows of a farmer near the city who combined a field of oats in late August.

The field, on average, produced close to 120 bu. per acre.

But within the field, the yield monitor was inconsistent. Some patches produced more than 120 bu. and other areas were more like 100 bu.

The largest variability could be in central Manitoba, where thunderstorms delivered almost all the rainfall from late May to the middle of August.

“Most spring wheat yields have been in the region of 35 to 65 bu. per acre, but yields have ranged from as low as 16 bu. per acre to as high as 80 bu. per acre only a few miles away,” says the Manitoba Agriculture crop report. “Oats have been yielding 80 to 130 bu. per acre, with some in the driest areas as low as 60 bu. per acre.”

Farooq gave an example of a farmer near Brandon. On her farm, a storm delivered 60 to 70 millimetres of rain to 75 percent of the farmland, but no hail.

The hail hit the remaining 25 percent.

“Four miles (away) they got close to 80 percent loss from hail,” he said.

“That kind of situation and variability (describes) this year…. The major thing this year was moisture.”

Looking beyond cereal crops, Farooq said pea yields have been better than expected in western Manitoba. Manitoba Agriculture has reported yields of around 50 bu., but some producers have posted yields in the 60s.

“Most of the farmers are very happy (with their) peas.”

The canola harvest is just underway in western Manitoba and much of the crop looks promising. But a lot depends on when the seed went in the ground. Later-seeded and re-seeded canola may struggle to produce average yields.

“If they seeded on time (earlier)… that canola should be very good — average to above average,” Farooq said.

“We are very lucky here in Westman… (compared) to other parts of Manitoba and other parts of the Prairies.”

Canola and wheat are the major crops on the eastern Prairies, but there’s also about 1.5 million acres of soybeans in the ground.

In parts of Manitoba, soybeans didn’t receive the necessary rainfall.

“They are a longer season crop and they need a lot of moisture,” Farooq said.

“I’m thinking soybeans could be below average yields…but you never know. Could be a surprise.”

Tags: crop, pea, Prairies, spring wheat, сereal, canola, soybeans, Production, wheat, yields